cover of you were there

[Newboi]

Hi guys and girls havent used this in ages. I just sing because i enjoy just wondered if I was actually any good and if you guys could give pointers etc. I recently discovered lip rolls as warm up exercise and can note the difference in sound. Here's a link to the song.

Its acapella style so no music just voice

[BetterThanFine]

I haven't heard the original, but I have a few ideas on how to improve your sound. I'm not a vocal instructor nor an expert vocalist, just someone like you who's learning, so take my ideas with a grain of salt.

1.) I would recommend using backing instrumentals. They help you learn timing and give you a point of reference for the key your voice should be in. If I'm singing a cappella (and I used to prefer singing a cappella), I have a tendency to change octaves after the chorus; my tempo also changes dramatically as the song progresses. Instrumentals also just enhance your voice and make the song "headnodic", as Pandora might call it... They just make a track way more interesting, and people are more likely to listen to it.

2.) It sounds like you might be singing through your nose and/or that you're singing too loud. The sound is pretty nasally. This might just be personal preference.

3.) Are you using your diaphragm when you're singing? That made a HUGE difference for me when I started doing it consistently. It added a whole range of notes that I couldn't reach comfortably before.

4.) Be confident when you're singing -- visualize, feel, and hear the right note and KNOW that you're going to sing it well. Put your shoulders back and sit or stand up straight if you normally slouch when singing. Ooze confidence. If you ever watch any pro live singers (Amy Winehouse is one of my favorites*), you'll notice that she never shows any signs of self-doubt. She 100% feels the music, she's in the zone, and she's not really thinking about what she's doing. It's become second-nature. If you turned the sound off, she could just as easily be talking. That's the kind of comfort level you want with singing, because that's when you'll really free your voice.

5.) Try to practice every day. Because you love singing, you're probably doing this anyway. I don't personally do lip rolls or warm-ups (not recommending this) but I do sing "easier" songs and I hum a lot before singing more challenging songs, and that helps.

Hope this helps!

*Here's one of my favorite videos of Amy singing "There Is No Greater Love." You can tell that in her head, in this moment, nothing exists except her and the music.

[Newboi]

Thanks for the feedback, any tips on encouraging the use of the diaphragm? The singer I learn from is Michael Jackson who also sung you were there but don't think he wrote the song nor was first to sing it. I try to spend lots of time opening up the throat and warming up the reason I prefer doing acaoella for critique is that nothing is hidden.